2024 Winter Event Recap
2024 Winter Event Featured Speaker - Kitchen Coalition
2023-2024 Grantees Announced at the Winter Event!
We had a fun morning on February 24th gathering at our annual winter event! Second Harvest Heartland hosted our group for the morning. A program of their organization, Kitchen Coalition (formally Minnesota Central Kitchen), received a 2022 GIVING WoMN grant. Robin Manthie, Director of Kitchen Coalition, shared an interesting and informative presentation about the evolution of Kitchen Coalition since its inception just weeks after the COVID19 pandemic shut down the state in March of 2020 and through their expansion into two other food banks and outside the state of MN.
They have developed a unique model in the hunger relief network that connects caterers and restaurants with nonprofits who directly serve people in need of prepared meals. The food organizations are reimbursed by Kitchen Coalition for the ingredients and labor used to prepare culturally relevant meals for the community. They get many of their ingredients from donated and low-cost food from Second Harvest Heartland. While Kitchen Coalition coordinates the connections between restaurants and non-profits, the relationships come to life through the ongoing feedback loop that food prepares have with those whom they serve—continuing to fine tune the content of the meals that are prepared to meet community need with dignity and relevancy. Learn more about the Kitchen Coalition program here.
Following Robin’s presentation, the group went on the tour of the Second Harvest Heartland facility to gain a better understanding of their food distribution operations. Their facility is not one to miss if you have an opportunity to do a volunteer shift with them or provide other assistance as a skilled volunteer. It is beautifully designed and one of the cleanest warehouses you will experience. They moved into this space in March 2020, almost quadrupling their space from their previous location in Maplewood. And their operation has seen many days, weeks and months of being almost at capacity since then as they serve over 400 food shelf and non-profit organizations in MN with food and meals. Second Harvest Heartland is very grateful for the support they received from GIVING WoMN. If you are interested in helping with their mission, consider volunteering or making a monetary donation here.
Susan Seiler and Beth Kipling, representing the Grants Committee, rounded out the agenda for our breakfast gathering. They shared insights and context for how the GIVING WoMN grant process works and the timeline of events that the committee has been working on since last May. And with a dramatic group drum roll, they presented us with the list of our 2024 grantees. Additional exciting news was that this was one of the largest grant pools awarded in our history at $150,000!
The Lift Garage (General Operating Funds) - $26,000
Breaking Free (Permanent Housing & Outreach Programs) - $25,000
Hope Dental Clinic (Senior outreach Program) - $21,000
DARTS (Caregiving Services) - $21,000
Native American Community Clinic (Community Baby Shower Prog.) - $21,000
Bridge for Youth (Marlene’s Place) - $19,000
Serve Minnesota (Minnesota Reading Corps Program ) - $17,000
We look forward to hearing from each of these organizations at our Annual Meeting on May 14th at Surly Brewing!
